Friday, March 30, 2012

The Mobile Health News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to mobile health that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

According to a recent Deloitte survey, 78 percent of senior mobile industry executives view healthcare as the most promising new growth channel for 4G services. Read Original Content

A recent report from BBC Research indicates that the global telemedicine market grew from $9.8 billion in 2010 to $11.6 billion in 2011 and will almost triple to $27.3 billion in 2016. Read Original Content

One of the broadest efforts to assess "mHealth" strategies is being made by dozens of faculty, staff and students in multiple departments at the Johns Hopkins University, which has 49 official studies underway in Baltimore and around the world as part of its Global mHealth Initiative. Read Original Content

Webalo technology eliminates the need for traditional mobile application development tools and custom programming to provide in hours, instead of weeks or months, mobile access to the specific enterprise data and functions that smartphone and tablet users rely on to do their jobs. This newsletter is sponsored in part by Webalo, www.webalo.com.

Globally, about 3.1 billion people used mobile phones in 2007; that’s nearly half the planet. In theory, this access to the Internet and specifically to mobile phone technologies should advance healthcare delivery, but is mHealth really going to improve health outcomes? Read Original Content

A new global mHealth market survey conducted in late 2011 examines the opinions of both start-up companies and mHealth and traditional healthcare market players that have had experience publishing applications for a smartphone platform. The report covers major questions about current mobile health market, and discusses hypotheses about market trends. Read Original Content

Thursday, March 29, 2012

The Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

To drive innovation and business opportunities in Finland's mobile ecosystem, Microsoft Corp. and Nokia will each invest up to 9 million euros into a newly established mobile application development program at Aalto University during the next three years. Read Original Content

Every 3.5 seconds, someone in America loses a cell phone, and more often than not, it happens in a coffee shop. All those absentminded moments add up to $30 billion in annual losses, the report, from mobile security company LookOut claims. Read Original Content

According to research firm IDC, Apple is the app designers’ platform of choice. Despite flourishing sales of devices powered by Google’s Android OS, more developers said they were “very interested” in developing apps for devices running Apple’s iOS. Read Original Content

ClickSoftware is an SAP mobility partner and the leading provider of automated workforce management and optimization solutions for every size of service business. This newsletter is sponsored in part by ClickSoftware - http://www.clicksoftware.com/.

The U.S. Army has officially announced a prototype of the Army Software Marketplace, a web-based app store that currently includes twelve different training apps that have been approved for Army-wide use. That includes just iOS apps, but it will soon include apps for Android. Read Original Content

The latest version of Apple’s iOS software, 5.1, has hit roughly 61 percent adoption among users of some popular iOS apps. Developer David Smith saw 61 percent of users already upgraded to the latest version of iOS after only 15 days of release. Read Original Content

I was eating my fried chicken cobb salad at an airport
restaurant in Chicago yesterday and overheard a table full of businessmen next to me talking
about mobile apps. One of them bragged
about how easy it is to develop mobile apps.
He used as evidence the fact that even his brother-n-law had developed
one.

I don't doubt it was a major accomplishment for the
brother-n-law, but I do doubt the mobile app in question was actually enterprise ready. There is much more involved with developing mobile apps than
just putting your favorite spreadsheet into an iOS app and getting it approved by
Apple. There are things like deployment,
maintenance, integration, app management, single sign-on and security that must
be considered.

Unless there is a strategic reason to develop your own
mobile apps, you should really look for off-the-shelf mobile apps first from
quality mobile app vendors before succumbing to the temptation to develop your
own. I recently spoke about this subject on a webinar that is now available on-demand. Developing a mobile app is just the
tip of the iceberg in terms of cost, time and resources required to maintain it long term.

When I was the CEO of a mobile app company, I remember how
hard it was simply trying to organize and maintain all the different versions
and code bases of the many custom apps we had developed for our customers. It was crazy!
We had enough customers so it was justified for us to invest in tools to
help manage this challenge, but it was still a cost and chore.

I will say it again, "Mobile apps have a beginning, but
they don't have an end." They will
be here for the rest of your career so you need a plan. Pick carefully the mobile apps that you want
to design, develop, deploy, document, archive, support and maintain
forever. It can easily become a black
hole with no escape if you don't.

I am also a big fan of cloud based mobile off-the-shelf apps when these are available. I believe that most enterprises will have several different buckets of mobile apps. Some buckets require custom developed mobile apps because of their unique features and the competitive advantages they provide, others however, can be off-the-shelf because they are simply providing efficiencies for standard ERP processes.

Some mobile apps may be mission critical, but are only used by 10 people. There are no economies of scale. It may not pay to train a whole team to develop, document and support a mobile app for just 10 people. Contract an expert team to jump in and develop it, if it is that important and worthwhile. However, find out if someone else can support it in the cloud.

If your organization is like most I work with, you have very limited resources and budgets. Pick carefully the kinds of mobile apps you are willing to develop and support yourself. Don't waste your best talent developing mobile apps that can be purchased off-the-shelf and in the cloud. Look for opportunities to develop unique mobile apps that provide the biggest strategic value and competitive advantages. Then development them using a standard IDE (integrated development environment) connected to a MEAP. Also, if you outsource the development work, make sure they use your standard IDE and MEAP. Don't let them mess up your standards!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

The Mobile Marketing News Weekly is an online newsletter that is made up of the most interesting news, articles and links related to mobile marketing that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting market size and market trend information.

According to the latest data presented by YouGov, a survey on SMS and mobile phone marketing showed that 65 percent of people like receiving offers on their mobile phones and 75 percent of smartphone users prefer receiving offers via SMST. To review all the morsels of info found in the YouGov study, check out their infographic. Read Original Content

Advertising on mobile devices rocketed by 157 percent in 2011, to a new high of £203.2 million, according to the annual IAB and PwC mobile advertising spend study. Read Original Content

Catalyst Financial Resources LLC has released a report on the future of mobile media advertising and marketing. In the report, Catalyst gave a bullish outlook for the mobile marketing industry. The report indicates U.S. advertising spending is expected to grow to $169.5 billion in 2012 from $158.9 billion in 2011. Read Original Content

Verivo is a leading provider of enterprise mobility software, Verivo helps companies accelerate their business results. Its unique technology empowers teams to build, deploy, manage and update their mobile apps -- rapidly and securely. Verivo’s mobility platform is used by hundreds of companies in numerous industries, worldwide. This newsletter is sponsored in part by Verivo. To learn more, visit www.verivo.com

Coca Cola is counting on mobile to help realize CEO Muhtar Kent's 2020 Vision Plan of doubling 2010 revenue to $200 million by 2020. Earlier this month the company launched an update of its 1971 ad, "I'd like to buy the world a Coke", reconfigured for the mobile age. With a few taps of the Smartphone, consumers can really “buy the world a Coke” and even add a personalized message. Read Original Content

By year's-end, mobile will contribute 25 percent to total paid-search ad clicks, up from 12 percent. By then, U.S. mobile campaigns will contribute about 23 percent to Google's paid-search revenue in the United States. Read Original Content

Andre Guillemin and I just completed a 30 plus page whitepaper on mobile middleware strategies, and I will be discussing this on a webinar on Thursday, March 29th at 1 PM EDT. The whitepaper title is Making Sense of Mobile Middleware Strategies. Choosing mobile middleware was listed as the third biggest challenge on insiderResearch's recent Mobile Outlook 2012 report (get the report free here).

I have said it before, and I will say it again, I believe the Sybase 365 platform is one of Sybase's most interesting mobile platforms and one of their best kept secrets. It is huge in m-Commerce and in mobile banking. It is also widely used around the world for mobile commerce. In this interview, I talk about Sybase 365 with Sybase's Allen Lau and Gabe Thendean.

An interesting side note - The Sybase 365 platform is integrated in some of SAP's mobile competitors' solutions. Some of these competitors are actually using the power and capabilities of Sybase 365 to give them competitive advantages over SAP and SUP. I think SAP should pay more attention to Sybase 365 as it can be the engine to power much of the new wave of mobile banking and m-Commerce globally.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

I had the privilege of recently attending SAP's DKOM conference. This is the SAP's developer's kick-off meeting (for SAP internal developers only). They invited me to speak on enterprise mobility and its impact on managing the "real-time" enterprise. While there I was able to spend time with SAP Mentors including SAP Mentor Greg Chase.

In this interview I ask Greg, who works in the Cloud Computing area of SAP, about cloud computing, enterprise mobility, business intelligence and how it all works together.

The Mobile Commerce News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news, articles and links related to mobile payments, mobile money, e-wallets, mobile banking and mobile security that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting market size and market trend information.

Bank of America is introducing a number of new mobile capabilities to meet the investment needs of Merrill Edge customers, allowing Merrill Edge iPhone users to deposit checks remotely using their mobile devices while iPad app users will be able to pay bills. Read Original Content

WIRED today announced the first-ever magazine advertisement utilizing NFC technology will appear in its April issue. Readers who own NFC-enabled Android smartphones can launch a mobile website allowing them to test-drive the new Lexus Enform with Safety Connect, Lexus’ in-car navigation and information service by simply placing their phone near the ad. Read Original Content

Square has launched a completely revamped smartphone application, rebranding its “Card Case” mobile payment app as “Pay With Square,” featuring a redesign that aims to improve local business discovery for prospective buyers. Read Original Content

Verivo is a leading provider of enterprise mobility software; Verivo helps companies accelerate their business results. Its unique technology empowers teams to build, deploy, manage and update their mobile apps -- rapidly and securely. Verivo’s mobility platform is used by hundreds of companies in numerous industries, worldwide. This newsletter is sponsored in part by Verivo. To learn more, visit www.verivo.com

Juniper Research has put forward a bold projection. According to the research titans behind the report, one in ten smartphone owners will use their handset to pay bills by 2016. Read Original Content

More than two-thirds of affluent consumers who own a smartphone have used their mobile device to shop for products and services, but since they prefer the in-store experience, luxury brands have to start creating humanistic experiences on mobile. Read Original Content

Monday, March 26, 2012

HTML5 based ads are
gaining on Flash. For ads that will be seen on mobile devices,
developers are focusing on HTML5. Read original content

Systems management and monitoring firm DN2K is turning to
HTML5. It announced that HTML5 is now, “one of its core technologies in its business and
industrial application platform”. Read original content

ChronoZoom is a new HTML5-based web
application developed by Microsoft Research, Russia's Moscow State University,
and UC Berkeley. The site uses mixed
media to let visitors visualize the universe. Read original content

Mozilla updated HTML5 video controls in the latest version
of Firefox version 12, which was just released in beta. Read original content

With all major browsers now supporting the HTML5 Geolocation
API, it would be interesting to understand what can be done with it. In this linked article, Danwei Tran Luciani for The Code Project explores the possibilities. Read original content

Opinion piece - Native apps will be around for some time to come, but the
push for HTML5 standardization from powerful groups like Facebook and others are starting to push apps from native to web. Read original content

The HTML5 Canvas element and Google Maps were used by
Vizzuality to create an interactive map that provides visualization of the
intensity and location of deforestation. Read original content

WSX, a new feature from VMware, uses the HTML5 Canvas
element and Web Sockets to let users access virtualized desktops remotely
through a web browser. WSX is compatible
with Firefox, Chrome, and Safari on the desktop and Safari on iPads. Read original content

MoSync has announced its new mobile development SDK, MoSync
AB, which will allow developers to use HTML5 technology to, “Create hybrid apps
or native apps with native features and UI experience for Android, iOS and
Windows Phone and submit them to multiple app stores within hours instead of
weeks.” Read original content

Seventy-nine percent of mobile developers report they will
integrate HTML5 in their apps this year, according to a survey conducted by IDC
and Appcelerator. The survey responses
indicated that developers are planning to develop HTML5 and “hybrid” apps. Read original content

Several weeks ago I had the good fortune to meet up with my long time friend and mobility expert Sam Lakkundi while I was in Orlando, Florida. Sam and I have been meeting up at enterprise mobility conferences for most of a decade. He has traveled the world first with Sybase, and now with Kony Solutions as the VP of Mobile Strategies.

Kony Solutions is an interesting company. They are kind of the newkid on the block in the enterprise mobility space, but they have huge experience in the mobile B2C (business-to-consumer) area. This experience is serving them very well now because as companies adopt the BYOD (bring your own device) model, they are finding that the B2C and B2E (business-to-employee) models are converging. If a company decides to support a wide number of mobile devices using many different mobile platforms, then that is basically the same model as B2C. This plays to Kony Solutions' strengths.

This week I walked into a Walgreens store with my wife and saw that all of the employees were wearing T-Shirts with QRCs (quick response codes) on their sleeves. The clerk did not know what they were. Being me, I walked up to the clerk and asked if I could scan his sleeve.

I used the Redlaser app on my iPhone to scan the QRC. It launched a website about an upcoming walk the company was sponsoring to raise funds to fight some disease. I thought the whole incident was humorous.

Employees are walking around with coded messages on their clothes with messages they do not know. However, it did get me thinking, which is not always useful.

What if people that are hanging out at pubs all started wearing QRCs on their clothes? If you are interested in a person, you can simply walk up to them and scan their QRC, which would launch a website with their details. Seems like an efficient way to learn about a person without actually having to talk to them.

First impressions would be of out-stretched hands with a smartphone pointing at them. You would need to pay particular attention to the way your hand and smartphone looked. You would need to think about the impression your particular smartphone would give your victim. Is it a feminine phone, or a male phone? Is it large, rugged and industrial, or small and shiny?

I imagine this could launch a whole new breed of "pick-up lines."

PSION EP10

"Do you often get scanned in here?"

Perhaps people would start wearing multiple QRCs on their clothes, each with a different message. When a person approaches with their out-stretched hand preparing to scan you, you can quickly decide which QRC to expose.

QRCs can evolve into a whole new pub language. Perhaps you can have different QRCs all over your clothes. Complete conversations could be conducted simply by exposing different QRCs.

I am going to stop thinking now.

Join me this week for a webinar called, Making Sense of Mobile Middleware! I just completed writing a full whitepaper on this subject and will be sharing the details on this webinar. I hope to see you there.

The Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to field mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

Axeda Corporation, a provider of a cloud platform for running and managing M2M transactions, through a partnership with SAP Gold Certified Partner GlobalSoft Solutions is connecting real-time data from its platform to SAP ERP and CRM systems. Read Original Content

The world market for RFID technology is projected to reach USD $18.7 billion by the year 2017, according new research announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc. Read Original Content

Parents of newborns at Colquitt Regional Medical Center can now feel an added measure of comfort thanks to a new state-of-the-art infant protection system called “Cuddles.” The new security system consists of tiny bracelets for the newborns that are constantly monitored by RFID technology. Read Original Content

Since 1995, Syclo has enabled hundreds of companies in 37 countries and industries supercharge their businesses with mobility. This newsletter is sponsored in part by Syclo. http://www.syclo.com/.

Set to hit the market in June for well over a grand, Panasonic’s SR-SX2 rice cooker works with FeliCa-enabled smartphones, which is an RFID smart card system developed by Sony. Through a downloadable app users can specify the type of rice they're cooking, the length of timers, and other settings, all by touching their phone to a blue icon on the cooker's lid. Read Original Content

The rugged handheld device Getac's PS236 is now available with AndroidTM. The military standard mobile handheld now comes equipped with Android 2.2, for those partners and customers looking to run the open-source software. Read Original Content

A lobbyist for the RFID industry has convinced Connecticut legislators to consider implanting spy chips on the state's license plates. The state Senate Transportation Committee voted unanimously to pass a bill asking the Department of Motor Vehicles to create a report on the implementation of RFID for motor vehicle registration. Read Original Content

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Welcome to Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly, an online newsletter that consists of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility in Asia. Asia is predicted to be the fastest area of growth for enterprise mobility between now and 2016.

Augmented Reality for smartphones tiptoes into India. It is estimated to have 5 percent of the “traditional media marketplace” in India. One question is whether it’s just a novelty or a wave of the future? Read Original Content

GraphicMail and SME Guru of Singapore have joined together to offer email and mobile marketing services in Southeast Asia. Read Original Content

ClickSoftware is an SAP mobility partner and the leading provider of automated workforce management and optimization solutions for every size of service business. This newsletter is sponsored in part by ClickSoftware - http://www.clicksoftware.com/.

Mobile technology has played a large part in travel industry growth in Asia, providing a way for consumers, vendors and employees to connect. Read Original Content

A study from On Device Research reveals that 38 percent of China’s Internet users in 2011 were mobile-only users. In rural areas, the number of mobile-only Internet users is up to 45 percent, with 29 percent in urban areas. Read Original Content

Consulting firm IDC, tracking China’s growth, predicts that the country will become one of the top five countries for smartphone numbers, along with India and Brazil. Apple’s iPhone sales in China during the last quarter were described as “staggering”, and IDC predicts it will narrowly top sales in the U.S. by the end of 2012. Read Original Content
and Read More Original Content and Read More Original Content

Friday, March 23, 2012

The Mobile Health News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to mobile health that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

Float Mobile Learning has prepared a terrific infographic showing the prospects of mHealth services. This industry is set for a rapid growth, with all parties looking to cut costs and increase efficiencies. Read Original Content

Mobihealth predicts that the U.S. market for wireless home-based healthcare applications and services will become a $4.4 billion industry in 2013. Read Original Content

Eighty percent of doctors already use smartphones, tablets and mobile apps and 40 percent believe apps can reduce office visits, but it could take longer than we thought for mHealth to revolutionize health care. Read Original Content

Webalo technology eliminates the need for traditional mobile application development tools and custom programming to provide in hours, instead of weeks or months, mobile access to the specific enterprise data and functions that smartphone and tablet users rely on to do their jobs. This newsletter is sponsored in part by Webalo, www.webalo.com.

Telemedicine is set to tackle the diabetes epidemic. Harvard's Joslin Diabetes Center is partnering with American Well to streamline diabetes referrals, improve health data sharing, and get people healthier. Read Original Content

The global telehealth market is expected to more than double from about $11.6 billion in 2011 to about $27.3 billion in 2016, representing a compound annual growth rate of 18.6 percent over the next five years, according to a report by BCC Research. Read Original Content

Apple's iPad is increasingly finding use in health and medicine, with apps ranging from giving individuals instant access to a wealth of reference, educational and personal health information, to helping hospitals streamline their operations, reduce labor costs, improve efficiency, and helping health professionals with analysis and diagnosis. Read Original Content

Thursday, March 22, 2012

The Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

For each 10 percent increase in broadband penetration there will be a 1.4 percent growth in the GDP for lower income economies. Facebook revealed that 90 percent of its users in Nigeria and South Africa access Facebook via mobile. Read Original Content

A new report from Pew Research Center says 27 percent of Americans now get their news using mobile devices, something that's helping to increase news consumption nationally, despite a continuing decline in subscribers to print publications. Read Original Content

Known instances of Android-related malware -- "virtually all" involving apps -- have jumped steadily month by month from 400 in June to 15,507 in February, according to Sunnyvale security firm Juniper Networks. Read Original Content

ClickSoftware is an SAP mobility partner and the leading provider of automated workforce management and optimization solutions for every size of service business. This newsletter is sponsored in part by ClickSoftware - http://www.clicksoftware.com/.

The U.S. market generated $67 billion in mobile data revenues in 2011, accounting for 39 percent of the overall revenues for the country. The mobile data market grew 4 percent Q/Q and 19 percent Y/Y to reach $18.6 billion for the quarter. Read Original Content

A recent report from Appcelerator and IDC found that developers are more interested in Apple’s iOS platform than any other mobile operating system. Eighty-nine percent of respondents said they were very interested in developing for the iPhone, while 88 percent were interested in the iPad. Read Original Content

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Last week I wrote an article titled, SAP Mobility and the App Pricing Problem, that stirred the pot. I don't know if it was trending on Twitter that day, but in my little world it caused a buzz. As a result of that article I received a near instant invitation to speak to SAP's Senior VP of Mobile Strategy Nick Brown, and Sybase's VP of Mobile Solutions Willie Jow. Today I was honored to speak to both of them about SAP's mobile pricing strategies.

Let me start out by saying the SAP mobility team is smart. They understand mobility, and the challenges that come along with it. They also understand SAP, SAP customers and how the SAP partner ecosystem works. All of these pieces of the puzzle are on the table and are being aligned. Not every possible pricing scenario is worked out yet, but most.

It must be recognized that enterprise mobility can be complex. You can make it as simple as possible, but not simpler. ~ Einstein

Here is how I understand SAP's pricing based upon my call with Nick Brown and Willie Jow today.

First pricing option, there is now a per mobile user platform bundle that you can purchase. The platform bundle includes a license of Sybase Unwired Platform, Afaria and NetWeaver Gateway for that mobile user. Here is how it works - if you have 100 mobile users, then you purchase 100 platform bundles. Each platform bundle allows for an unlimited number of mobile applications to access it for that specific mobile user. The mobile apps are not included as you can develop them yourself, contract with a third party or from a vendor. So the platform bundle pricing is uncoupled from the mobile apps pricing. You can purchase mobile apps from SAP, SAP partners or other third parties.

Second pricing option, for small productivity mobile apps there is a limited
run-time license (includes a one user license of Sybase Unwired Platform and NetWeaver Gateway) that is based on the estimated value of the mobile app. This license is an incremental percentage of the price of the mobile app. For example, if the mobile app sold for $50, a percentage of that fee would be negotiated as the license fee for SAP. If the price for the mobile app was $19.95, the license fee would again be a percentage, but a lesser amount.

Third pricing option, Managed Mobility - (includes SUP/Afaria/Gateway) – in this model SAP's end
customer is the SaaS or PaaS vendor. SAP has developed a new license model to empower service providers to resell these platforms as a service to end customers. This allows cloud based mobile app vendors to pay a fee to SAP based on end user subscriptions.

I know this article doesn't clarify everything, but it should at least be a good conversation starter when you next speak to your SAP AE (account executive).

When it comes to mobile HTML5 performance, Apple’s iOS
platform far surpasses the Android, according to a recent study from
Spaceport.Read original content

The TeamLab Document Editor, which is the first online HTML5 word processor, makes
use of all the HTML5 features, according to developer Ascensio System SIA. Read original content

Adobe has introduced Shadow, a new tool for the inspection and
preview of customized websites for mobile devices.The HTML5 friendly tool allows developers to
“remotely control and inspect Web pages in multiple phones and tablets simultaneously.” Read original content

According to a new study from IT staffing firm Bluewolf,
demand and salaries are on the rise (up 200 percent) for developers with knowledge of HTML5,
iPhone, iPad, and Android applications. Read original content

Tether has introduced a new HTML5 web app which allows users
to wirelessly connect their iPhone or iPad to a laptop to enable 3G Internet
access.The HTML5 Tether for iPhone, as
a web app, will bypass Apple’s app store.The iTether originally launched in November of 2011, but was pulled from
the app store by Apple shortly after its introduction. Read original content

appMobi has announced the launch of jqMobi 1.0, an open
source HTML5 mobile framework.Read original content

Trigger.io has expanded its cross-platform development
framework with the new Forge framework.The new framework allows developers to “create and deploy web apps in
addition to native mobile apps - all from a single HTML5 codebase." Read original content

The new AnyPresence cloud-based mobile development platform
for building HTML5, iOS and Android apps is in beta testing.The platform was developed by former SAP and
Oracle executives and is expected to launch in April, 2012.Read original content

Gizmox announced the availability of a preview version of
its new Visual WebGui Enterprise Mobile platform.The platform will enable .net developers to
build “secure, efficient data-centric enterprise HTML5 applications for cross
platform mobile devices including iOS, Android and every W3C browser using
their existing development skills." Read original content

The Mobile Marketing News Weekly is an online newsletter that is made up of the most interesting news, articles and links related to mobile marketing that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting market size and market trend information.

Earlier this month mobile operator SingTel purchased mobile ad company Amobee for $321 million in an all-cash deal. Read Original Content

Small business interest in mobile advertising is up sharply, according to Ad-ology Research. More than 20 percent of small business decision makers said they plan to commit more resources to mobile marketing in 2012, up from the 12 percent who said the same last year. Read Original Content

Advertising on mobile devices rocketed by 157 percent in 2011 in the UK, to a new high of £203.2 million, according to the annual IAB and PwC mobile advertising spend study. Read Original Content

Verivo is a leading provider of enterprise mobility software, Verivo helps companies accelerate their business results. Its unique technology empowers teams to build, deploy, manage and update their mobile apps -- rapidly and securely. Verivo’s mobility platform is used by hundreds of companies in numerous industries, worldwide. This newsletter is sponsored in part by Verivo. To learn more, visit www.verivo.com

A survey released last month from mobile advertising network Greystripe found that 53 percent of smartphone users and 27 percent of iPad users search for movie listings, times and locations on their mobile devices. Within a few weeks, you'll be able to skip the box-office line and head straight to your seat by swiping your mobile device over a scanner. It can read the bar code of an electronic ticket purchased with an app. Read Original Content

The tech marketing - specifically the mobile device market - is exploding around the globe. In the U.S. the growth has been staggering over the past year, in all corners of the country. MaxPoint Interactive finds tech products are getting the most consumer interest on both the east and west coasts - San Francisco, Miami, New York and West Palm Beach - are among the top ten most interested cities for technology products. Read Original Content

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

As regular readers of this blog already know, I have been championing the convergence of enterprise mobility and M2M (machine to machine) for several years now. Why? M2M is mostly data collected in the field and wirelessly sent and integrated with back-end systems and ERPs. That kind of sounds like enterprise mobility, right?

As a manager, data collected from the field has value. It can impact scheduling, resource allocation, planning, work dispatch and much more. In today's world of M2M or "The Internet of Things" equipment, products and other assets can have embedded wireless chips connected to sensors reporting their status from just about anywhere. When machines report their own status, or measurements without humans in the loop, there are big savings.

Today I read about Axeda and Globalsoft working together to integrate M2M solutions with SAP. Very interesting! Here is an excerpt, "Axeda Corporation and GlobalSoft Solutions are enabling SAP users to get more value from their CRM solution by integrating connected product data with customers’ core business systems and workflows."

Instead of waiting for a piece of high value equipment to break, the equipment can automatically send a wireless message to an enterprise asset management system notifying it that repairs or maintenance is required. If you can maintain and support equipment before it breaks down, you can avoid unscheduled work stoppage and high repair costs. If equipment can be remotely reporting its status, then there doesn't have to always be a person driving around inspecting it.

Last year I heard for the first time, Jim Snabe, Co-CEO of SAP referring to M2M and remote sensors. I also heard that M2M was a big subject at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this year. M2M is a subject that companies with remote plants, job sites, assets and equipment should be researching and learning.

Here is more about M2M and SAP from the article, "By connecting real-time product data from the Axeda Platform to SAP, information such as asset owner, location, product configuration, health status, usage, inventory levels and alerts automatically populates in the SAP CRM Contact Center. This data can automatically trigger business process workflows such as automated service ticket/case creation, pay-per-use billing, warranty management, replenishment of consumables, compliance management, product recalls, planned maintenance and more."

I have heard people at both SAP and Sybase talk about remote sensors and M2M, but I still don't know if there is any technology in the SAP/Sybase solution stack that helps manage wireless sensors, or the data that comes in from them.

The Mobile Commerce News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news, articles and links related to mobile payments, mobile money, e-wallets, mobile banking and mobile security that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting market size and market trend information.

PayPal unveiled a new service that allows smartphones to process credit card transactions. Known as PayPal Here, the service takes the handset beyond a tool for consumers to make payments, to a terminal for merchants too, reflecting the changing balance of the company's business. Read Original Content

MasterCard has launched its Mobile Money partnership program with Indian mobile services provider Comviva, mobile messaging service Sybase 365, and a Singapore-based mobile financial services company Utiba as initial partners. The MasterCard Mobile Money Partnership Program is a global initiative by MasterCard to provide financial services to more than 2.5 billion financially under-served consumers worldwide through their mobile phones. Read Original Content

According to the annual Q1 Merchant Survey conducted by the Direct Response Forum, a majority of retailers, 63 percent of respondents, indicated that only 2 percent or less of their sales are generated from a mobile device. Only 17 percent reported that mobile sales are over 10 percent. Read Original Content

Verivo is a leading provider of enterprise mobility software, Verivo helps companies accelerate their business results. Its unique technology empowers teams to build, deploy, manage and update their mobile apps -- rapidly and securely. Verivo’s mobility platform is used by hundreds of companies in numerous industries, worldwide. This newsletter is sponsored in part by Verivo. To learn more, visit www.verivo.com

A recent NielsenWire report shows the top five retail mobile apps and sites together, belonging to Amazon, Best Buy, eBay, Target and Walmart, managed to reach nearly 60 percent of all smartphone users during the holiday season at the end of last year, up from 53 percent in October. Read Original Content

Gap recently ran a two-week campaign that used location to drive users to nearby stores with a mobile coupon. The Gap campaign placed ads on bus shelters in major cities that were tied to a mobile offer using geolocation. The retailer worked with advertising company Titan on this initiative. Read Original Content

Hans Nygaard, Global Lead for Mobility, with Logica works with many clients on mobile projects particularly in the Scandinavian countries. He offers his insights into enterprise mobility in this interview with me that was recorded at SAPinsiders' recent Mobile2012 conference. In this interview Hans reports on how his clients have matured through the enterprise mobility curve.

Monday, March 19, 2012

This weekend I drove past a tragic fatality accident near Bend, Oregon. It was a head-on collision between two cars. One of the witnesses quoted in the paper the following day expressed his long held belief in the danger of the particular stretch of road where the accident happened. That got me thinking.

This afternoon, I decided to grab some delicious take-out Indian food for lunch here in Boise, Idaho. As I was returning to my office, I drove past another traffic accident in a section of the road that I always felt was dangerous. That incident pushed me past thinking to writing.

I want a mobile solution, or an in-vehicle navigation system that utilizes SAP's Hana solution to wirelessly and speedily analyze big data about traffic and safety and predict the safest routes. One that is also location aware, and can provide me with a list of route options based upon their relative safety. I know some back roads, where the speed limits are slow and the traffic light, that must be far safer that congested streets with fast speed limits. I want that information. I bet insurance carriers would appreciate the same.

As I was planning the driving route home from Bend, Oregon to Boise, Idaho on Saturday, I was trying to predict and anticipate all of the virtues and risks of each possible route. I considered road conditions, speed and weather. I forgot, however, to consider distances to hospitals, tow trucks, gas stations and emergency responders. I was fortunate not to need any emergency services, but I had failed to consider all of these variables. My wife pointed out that we were lucky we didn't need them as we were driving across hundreds of miles of near empty high desert, in the Winter.

Which one of you service providers or vendors will provide me with a subscription to this service?

Can we add a predictive mobile app that will consider crime, death rate, accident data, contagious disease outbreak data, a potential for civil war as well? One that will give me real-time updates as I walk through unfamiliar neighborhoods in foreign cities? Let's add tornado outbreaks, earthquake, tsunami, flood and hurricane data as well. Seriously!!! The data is there. Can't we consider all of this data and then visualize it on an infograph?

I have known Sky Technologies' Roger Newby for many years. He is an expert in enterprise mobility, both on the software and the hardware side of the business. In this interview Roger shares his insights on mobility and working within the SAP mobility ecosystem.

The Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to field mobility and machine to machine communications that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

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